To coincide with our new look Friday email bulletin, I’ve decided to begin a weekly blog outlining my thoughts on key debates and discussions on the UK’s favourite small business forums. Given the level of activity the site receives, the posts will by no means be a comprehensive guide to the week’s action but I hope many of you will find my thoughts on what you’re all getting up to interesting!
One thread in particular which caught my eye this week was 'Do Brits hate success?'.
As many posters agreed, we certainly do have a habit of building people up in the UK and then knocking them down when they achieve success. Just have a look at the tabloids!
It’s a real shame we don’t have a more celebratory attitude towards achievement in this country. The US in particular is one country where the general population is much more prepared to sing the praises of those who succeed. In the current economic climate, rewarding and lauding over those who don’t succumb to the hard times is even more crucial.
Ironically, the UK’s attitude towards failure is similar to its attitude towards failure. As I wrote in my blog over on BusinessZone.co.uk last March, there’s a real stigma about those who have a failed business in their past. Name any successful entrepreneur though and it’s highly likely they have completely crashed and burned in a previous business life. Bill Gates, Peter Jones, Walt Disney…the list goes on. Here they are looked down upon whereas in the US it’s almost badge of honour. I look forward to the day when both success and failure receive the recognition they deserve!
Elsewhere on the forums, An Oasis posted a thread that filled me, a Twitter-addict, with dread! Bye, bye social networking, he said, as he related how the time he has spent experimenting with Facebook has been more trouble than it’s worth.
Now, I admit, social networking isn’t the be all and end all but I do believe most small businesses can get something out of it. Yes, it takes time but if you do it right you can reap rewards. Not all networks are appropriate for all types of businesses. The key is to find the ones that are and engage with your target audience. Even if you only spend an hour a week building social media relationships, I believe you’ll gain real value.
We recently started a social media and small businesses discussion group over on the new look BusinessZone.co.uk so if you've got any top tips, do share them there.
Finally this week, I can’t not mention the dongle love shown by UKBFer maxine on Thursday. The telemarketer was the latest winner of our monthly mobile internet competition and boy was she excited! Check out her reaction. Congratulations maxine. We look forward to hearing more about how your prize benefits your business.
See you next week!
One thread in particular which caught my eye this week was 'Do Brits hate success?'.
As many posters agreed, we certainly do have a habit of building people up in the UK and then knocking them down when they achieve success. Just have a look at the tabloids!
It’s a real shame we don’t have a more celebratory attitude towards achievement in this country. The US in particular is one country where the general population is much more prepared to sing the praises of those who succeed. In the current economic climate, rewarding and lauding over those who don’t succumb to the hard times is even more crucial.
Ironically, the UK’s attitude towards failure is similar to its attitude towards failure. As I wrote in my blog over on BusinessZone.co.uk last March, there’s a real stigma about those who have a failed business in their past. Name any successful entrepreneur though and it’s highly likely they have completely crashed and burned in a previous business life. Bill Gates, Peter Jones, Walt Disney…the list goes on. Here they are looked down upon whereas in the US it’s almost badge of honour. I look forward to the day when both success and failure receive the recognition they deserve!
Elsewhere on the forums, An Oasis posted a thread that filled me, a Twitter-addict, with dread! Bye, bye social networking, he said, as he related how the time he has spent experimenting with Facebook has been more trouble than it’s worth.
Now, I admit, social networking isn’t the be all and end all but I do believe most small businesses can get something out of it. Yes, it takes time but if you do it right you can reap rewards. Not all networks are appropriate for all types of businesses. The key is to find the ones that are and engage with your target audience. Even if you only spend an hour a week building social media relationships, I believe you’ll gain real value.
We recently started a social media and small businesses discussion group over on the new look BusinessZone.co.uk so if you've got any top tips, do share them there.
Finally this week, I can’t not mention the dongle love shown by UKBFer maxine on Thursday. The telemarketer was the latest winner of our monthly mobile internet competition and boy was she excited! Check out her reaction. Congratulations maxine. We look forward to hearing more about how your prize benefits your business.
See you next week!
